


Patched-up Leather

by Star_of_Gotham



Series: Poe Dameron and Finn: Starfighter Duo Extraordinaires [1]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Honestly this whole waiting for Finn thing is so cliche, M/M, So have another, Waiting, but so good
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-31
Updated: 2016-01-11
Packaged: 2018-05-10 13:58:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5588740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Star_of_Gotham/pseuds/Star_of_Gotham
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Poe waits for Finn to wake up. He talks a lot, thinks a lot, cries a lot. Oh, and Finn's jacket needs to get fixed too, he figured. But what would Finn like?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just a bunch and angst and fluff for our favorite interracial gay couple! This is gonna be a couple chapters long, and I just wanted to get the first little part up and going for everyone while I waited on an answer from someone on something I'd like to include for you all!

                “Oh God, Finn…” Poe wiped the sweat off his brow, letting his hand reach up and grab knots in his helmet hair; he just held it there, shaking and fighting back tears threatening to fall, feeling so helpless for once in his life. He had run with the medics the entire way to the infirmary the moment he stepped foot back on base, but they forced him to wait outside of the room while they stabilized him. _Stabilized him_ , Poe had thought, wondering how such a term could be used on a person, but knowing all too well what they meant. Rey had been given minimal medical treatment, and waited outside the room with Poe, counseling him and telling him about Finn’s actions inside the base. Rey had also tried to talk Poe into getting something to eat or drink, or at least to change into something other than his pilot’s suit, but to no avail. Poe only left his seat by the door when news of the completed map reached him, but he was still denied entrance until the next day. Impatient but aware of the greater picture, Poe gave up his morning’s chance to see Finn in order to send Rey away. He would miss her, he told himself, as even though they’d only briefly met he’d heard all about her piloting skills and feats as a young Jedi.

                But after Rey had left, after the crowd had stayed outside to talk about their new hope, Poe hurried back to the medical bay. There was weak resistance from the nurses, but Poe was finally, _finally_ allowed inside Finn’s room. “Finn…” Poe breathed out, taking in the unconscious man in the bed. His face looked peaceful, Poe decided, for someone who had been through so much and then hurt so badly. Poe stood inside the room, alone and quiet save for the soft, rhythmic breathing of Finn in the bed. And he watched him, and he listened to that breathing. _He’s alive_ , Poe told himself, stepping closer to Finn, but noticing the jacket on a chair next to him. Poe picked it up, studied it, _resented it_. It had been a constant source of comfort, luck, and identity to him through his entire life. And then Finn had come along and swept him away, quite literally when they had escaped the First Order together, and by giving Finn the jacket Poe hoped that maybe, just _maybe_ , he could bestow upon the guy just as much of a life he had been given.

                It must have been too much to expect. The jacket didn’t give Poe any of his luck. It didn’t give him any source of safety. But his identity? Poe gripped the jacket tightly, holding it up to his face. Poe did give Finn an identity. His name, and now his jacket. And he was alive. _He’s alive,_ Poe said to himself again. _You’re alive…_ Poe repeated, clenching the burned jacket and crying into it tears of sadness, of fear, of hope.

                It was a long time before Poe composed himself enough to leave. He smoothed out the jacket on the chair, already thinking of when he’d visit Finn again, and whether he’d be awake then or not.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 2 of Poe visiting Finn in the hospital.

                Finn wasn’t awake. Poe knew deep down that he wouldn’t just wake up a day after such a traumatic injury, but no matter how he tried he couldn’t get rid of that little sliver of hope until he had seen him the next day, eyes closed and that same steady breathing. Poe placed a hand on the edge of the bed and breathed out, eyes closed and face blank. And then he started to hum. It was just a silly little lullaby that his mom had hummed for him when he was little enough to fall asleep on her lap. He hummed the melody while standing, and continued to do so after taking a seat in the chair next to Finn’s bed. When he felt that he had hummed himself down from his emotional mess, Poe let the notes fade and took a few calm breathes. _Better_ , he reassured himself. _I’m doing better, and so will Finn_.

                Poe kept that thought in his head as he reached behind him for Finn’s jacket on the chair. Yesterday he had cried into it and crumpled it, but today it was looking as good as it was going to after taking a swipe from a lightsaber. He ran his calloused hand on the familiar jacket that didn’t feel so familiar anymore. The material, a sort of leather made from his home planet meant to be softer and more durable than others, was just as tough as when he last wore it. It still had the same sun-stains, the same scratches and imprints, the same ground-in particles; but it was still so different to Poe now. “Funny, Finn, what giving your favorite jacket away can do to a man…” Poe muttered. “And now, it can barely be called a jacket. What do you make of that?”

                Finn didn’t make anything of it, save for another quiet inhale and exhale of air. Poe watched Finn’s rising and falling chest, listened to his breathing, and bit his quivering lip to fight back more tears. He had cried for his friend copiously already, he didn’t need to do it again the next day. He bit his lip hard, hard enough to know that he’d be feeling it throb for the rest of the day, but it wasn’t enough to stop himself. Once the first one rolled down his cheek, carving a path through the dust from working on his X-Wing all morning, the others fell along with it. He gripped the jacket in one hand, pressing it against his forehead while gripping Finn’s hand with the other. “Finn, buddy, you gotta come back to me soon,” Poe said through the tears. “Because I don’t know if I can come in here and keep crying every day,” he said, laughing a bit at himself, knowing that Finn would’ve laughed at him too.

                After most of the tears had subsided, Poe breathed a few shaky breathes. He held himself there, holding onto the jacket and Finn, and made a silent vow. _No more tears in here,_ Poe told himself. _No more tears, because if I’m always crying then I can’t help Finn get better. And I_ will _help you get better, Finn. I’ll do everything I can to help fix you._ After another few minutes of silence, Poe sniffled pathetically and wiped the wetness off his face. “You deserve better than this, Finn,” he said, his voice no longer shaking, referring to both his crying and the jacket. With plans in mind already to fix things, Poe kissed Finn’s forehead as a way of saying goodbye, and left the room with the jacket folded in his arms. “BB-8,” he said, calling to his droid friend waiting for him down the hallway. “Come on buddy, we’ve got someone to find.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All right, so I was granted allowance to incorporate an artist's work into this fic, which you should be seeing shortly! Within the next couple of days the next chapter should be up, as well as a hint at what it is Poe's doing and what I needed to ask to use!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so, for the purpose of the story I created Andra! There's literally nothing I need to tell you about her other than the fact that she's amazing with what she can make with her hands, and therefore does a lot of work for the Resistance. Her droid is named NE-DL3, pronounced "Needle" (real original, I know), and assists her with everything, including holding and sorting thread, actually sewing, and providing gossip provided by other droids provided by their owners.

                “Poe Dameron, for the fifth time, when I finish it, I will let you know!” shouted Andra, refusing to open her door. Poe heard some muffled beeps and whistles on the other side, something along the lines of “IS THE CRY PILOT ASKING FOR JACKET AGAIN?”. More grumbling from Andra followed the droid, and Poe knew he wasn’t going to get anything out of her that day. He had come to her six days earlier, straight from Finn’s medical room with the jacket in hand. BB-8 had fun chatting with her sewing droid while Poe asked Andra to patch up Finn’s jacket. She was reluctant at first, because “Why should I patch up a mangy old jacket when the Resistance has countless suits that need repair still?” But after some persuading and a lot of input from BB-8 (Poe owes that droid for so much it’s astounding it didn’t start ordering Poe around), the talented woman agreed to fix the jacket. So Poe left it in her capable hands, along with several notes about how it should be fixed, much to her annoyance, and payed her up front for her work. He had to admit, she seemed a bit more willing to fix the jacket _after_ he had given her enough to buy her droid the more expensive oil they all seemed to enjoy.

                Poe walked away from Andra’s locked room both anxious and excited. He knew what it would look like finished, and he had no doubt about Andra and her droid’s skills. But Finn’s reaction was something that only time would tell, and thinking about Finn’s reaction got Poe stuck up on when Finn would wake up, and he knew that wasn’t something he wanted to focus on. “Come on BB, why don’t we get some food? We can visit Finn afterwards,” Poe said, and laughed happily when his droid friend did a little hop and rolled around quickly. “Yeah… Me too, buddy, me too.”

                But while Poe was eating, scooping spoonfuls of a green soup into his mouth, a medical bay nurse approached him. He was just finishing a particularly texturized mouthful, which was a good thing for the nurse when he gave Poe the two words he’d been waiting to hear for days. “He’s awake, Mr. Dameron,” the nurse said, not realizing the full effect those words had on Poe. He had just swallowed, and before he could get any words out to thank the man BB-8 expressed their collective joy with a series of reverberant, high-pitched beeps and whistles.

                Poe jumped up from his seat and clapped a hand on the nurse’s shoulder. “Thank you,” he said genuinely, taking off the moment after and followed closely by BB-8, uncaring about the unfinished meal left on the table. Poe dashed to the medical bay, but was stopped by a doctor standing outside the door, seemingly waiting for the pilot to come running. “Can I see him?” Poe asked, breathing deeply both from the sudden run and the thought of seeing Finn awake and well.

                “Mr. Dameron, please, he’s only just awoken and is in no condition to be accepting visitors. The poor boy can barely sit up, and he shows every indicator of still being in large amounts of pain from his lightsaber wound,” the doctor said, reciting lines as if rehearsing for this exact moment. BB-8 beeped dejectedly, and Poe started to stammer out a reply, but was interrupted by the doctor. “I know you’ve waited long for him to wake up, but you’re going to have to wait some more. If he’s doing well enough by the evening, then we will send someone to get you. Sorry, Mr. Dameron, but Finn needs more rest before he’s reintroduced to semblances of everyday life again.”

 _Finn needs more rest_ , Poe said mockingly in his head, but thanking the doctor anyway and walking away from Finn’s room. He didn’t even get to see the guy through the windows, thanks to their privacy filters: Finn could see out, and so could the doctors inside with him, but all Poe saw when he looked in was the sharp glare of the lights and his blurry reflection. “I WISH TO SEE MY FINN SOON,” hummed BB-8, its head tilted forward like it does when it’s upset.

                “Me too, buddy, me too.” Poe was just as dejected as his droid, and sighed heavily on the way back to the cafeteria, wondering if anyone left his food untouched.

                “Well, that was a big one,” Andra said behind Poe, making him turn around, startled. “Something happen to the kid?”

                “He woke up,” Poe replied, getting a smile again now that he was away from the doctors and talking to someone he’d at least consider an acquaintance. BB-8 beeped in agreement, and Andra’s droid beeped back.

                “Well then, it sounds like I have pretty damn good timing!” Andra retrieved something from her droid, and when she came out from her room again she held the jacket in her hands, folded neatly into a square. “Here, I put the finishing touches on it an hour ago. I figured I needed a way to get you to stop bugging me for it,” she said, smiling at Poe despite her words.

                Poe accepted the jacket from her, his eyes wide with emotion. He could see some blue already, and on one corner a bit of red. “Andra, thank you. Really,” Poe said, followed by more BB-8 beeps of joy.

                “Sure thing, loverboy. Just make sure he doesn’t let anything happen to it now, or I’ll go after the both of ya, hear me?” Andra said, giving Poe a hard time. She heard about almost everything he talked about to the boy with from her droid NE-DL3, who heard it from BB-8, who was with Poe in Finn’s room every day after he promised not to cry anymore (another detail he told BB-8 about, who spread it down the chain). “Take care, now.” And with the brief farewell, Andra was back in her room, NE-DL3 asking about the “CRY PILOT” again.

                Poe looked at the jacket, then at his droid. “BB-8,” he said, his face still red from Andra’s comment, “have you been talking to NE-DL3 about our visits to Finn?”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A link to the jacket will be included at the end, and I'd like the thank the artist greatly for their inspiration and letting me use their idea in this story. Go check it out below!

                Finn had always been used to the cold. Cold beds on Starkiller base, cold looks from disapproving superiors, cold treatment by comrades and staff. But with the Resistance, Finn had felt nothing but warmth since he first laid eyes on Poe Dameron. Ever since that fateful moment, when he’d decided to flee from the First Order with the Resistance pilot, Finn had felt that cold feeling leave his body and mind forever. He had never been so heated; escaping from Starkiller base, running from his old allies on Jakku with Rey and BB-8, meeting Poe again after thinking he had died after the crash. Hell, _especially_ after the crash on Jakku, when Finn was trudging through endless seas of sand, he felt the warmth. Ironically enough, even back on Starkiller base hadn’t been enough to reintroduce that bone-brittling cold that had once permeated his being. The fatal blow to his back? Finn couldn’t deny that red stroke of heat its credit.

                But all of that warmth paled in comparison when Finn saw Poe Dameron, pilot extraordinaire and Resistance icon, looking at him with worry through the room’s one-sided windows. Knowing Poe, Finn safely guessed that BB-8 was outside too, but with his head spinning, stomach shouting, and staff talking, Finn let himself wander away from thoughts of the pilot. _Tomorrow,_ Finn told himself as he listened to the doctors drone on about his current condition. _He’ll be back tomorrow._

                And Finn was right: the next day, in the evening when the sun had started to set and the lighting of the room, set to reflect the outside light to help soothe patients, had begun to dim into a natural glow, Poe Dameron slid open his room’s door. BB-8 was faithfully by his side, and started to happily (Finn guessed it was happy?) beep and whistle. Finn smiled and chuckled, acknowledging the droid first. “Hey BB-8, I missed you too.”

                “BB-8 wanted to know if you were hungry,” Poe said, smiling down at his droid before looking at first for the first time after the injury. “He said he’d buy you anything you wanted from the cafeteria if you were.” BB-8 beeped in surprise, and rapidly turned on Poe.

                “That’s very nice, BB-8,” Finn said, looking at Poe, “but I ate something earlier already.” Finn then noticed that Poe had a square package in a hand, wrapped in a simple type of light-blue paper and tied with string. “Don’t tell me you got me a gift too, BB-8,” Finn teased the droid, chuckling shallowly when it turned on him next and started yelling.

                “I AM NOT A CONVERSATION TOOL,” BB-8 exclaimed, rolling sharply and nudging Poe in the shin. “GIVE OUR FINN THE GIFT QUICKLY!”

                “If you say so, buddy,” Poe said, patting the droid’s head. “As much as BB-8 would love to take credit for it, this one is from me, Finn.” Poe got closer and handed the simple package to his lying-down friend, not wanting him to have to sit up and irritate any wounds. “I had some help with it, obviously, but…”

                Poe fell silent as Finn went to work untying the string, moving slower and more rigid than Poe had ever seen him. His fingers worked the string apart meticulously, and he unfolded the wrapping with surprising carefulness. When the gift had been revealed, Finn was having trouble bending forward at all to fold it all out. “Here, let me show you,” Poe said, taking it by the shoulders after Finn nodded.

                Finn’s face was a wondrous mix of emotion when he finally saw the jacket held up for him to see it all. “Poe…” he said, taking it in.

                “Look, Finn,” Poe said, smiling hopefully, “I got your jacket fixed!” Poe turned it around so Finn could see the back, where he pointed to the biggest patch. “Now it has the lightsaber you fought with on the back,” Poe said, tracing his finger across the design that he had put together based off what Rey had told him. “And,” Poe continued, showing Finn the front again, “the logo of the Rebel Alliance here,” he said, pointing to the new addition over the red, right shoulder area.

                Finn said nothing throughout it all, and Poe was unable to make sense of the emotions flashing over his face. _Oh god, he thinks I ruined the only possession he ever owned_ , he thought in a panic. “Finn?” Poe asked tentatively, praying that he didn’t damage his relationship with Finn after defacing the jacket he had bestowed upon him. Poe’s panic was reinvigorated tenfold when tears started falling down Finn’s face. “Oh god, Finn, I’m so sorry, I thought you’d want it patched up, but I went overboard trying to fix it for you, and-”

                “Poe,” Finn sniffled, cutting off the babbling pilot and wiping a hand across his face to throw off some of the wetness. “I love it,” Finn said, almost starting to really laugh. “I love it so much- thank you.” And in that moment, through the tears and Poe jubilant face, Finn felt truly warm, as if all the cold in the galaxy was no match for the candle he was holding in his heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The post that inspired this all is [here](http://petimetrek.tumblr.com/post/136064171286/oh-no-you-dont-like-it-sniff-poe-i-love), and I highly recommend you all take a look at not only the short comic, but also the blog!  
> As for more in the series, expect a really fluffy but short fic in the not-too-far future!


End file.
